This invention relates generally to dispensing valves and related valve actuator devices for use in regulated dispensing of liquids, particularly such as dispensing of flavor syrups and the like used in soft drink dispenser stations for mixing and dispensing soft drink beverages. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved valve actuator adapted for hydraulic operation in response to delivery of carbonated water to operate a dispenser valve on a syrup-containing bottle, resulting in accurate delivery of proportioned quantities of syrup and carbonated water to produce a soft drink beverage.
Soft drink dispenser stations and/or vending machines and the like are generally known in the art for use in dispensing soft drink beverages in individual servings, typically on the order of about six to ten ounces per serving. Such dispenser stations commonly include a water reservoir adapted to receive and store a supply of fresh water typically in chilled and carbonated form, together with one or more separate bottles containing flavored syrup. When a beverage serving is desired, the dispenser station regulates the flow of proportioned quantities of the chilled water and the selected flavor syrup for mixture and dispensing into a drinking cup, glass, etc. Since the flavor syrup is normally provided in concentrated form, a relatively small volumetric proportion of the flavor syrup is delivered for each serving, in comparison with a significantly larger quantity of the chilled water. Accordingly, accurate delivery of closely regulated or metered volumes of the flavor syrup is extremely important to ensure dispensing of a consistent and high quality beverage product to the consumer. Relatively minor variations in the dispensed syrup quantity can unfortunately result in significant fluctuations in the taste of the final beverage.
In the past, soft drink dispenser stations and vending machines of this general type have utilized a variety of valve mechanisms and related valve actuators for controlled dispensing of carbonated water and/or the associated flavor syrup to form the soft drink beverage. In this regard, electrically operated valves have been widely used for regulating the water and syrup flows. However, this has generally required the use of separate valves associated with the water and syrup flows, with additional timer mechanisms and circuitry being required to insure accurate coordinated delivery of proportioned liquid quantities. In other systems, a pressurized supply of carbon dioxide gas used for producing carbonated water has additionally provided a pressure fluid for operating one or more pneumatic valve actuators. However, the carbon dioxide gas used to operate the valve mechanisms has been exhausted to atmosphere such that a significant portion of the pressurized gas supply is rendered unavailable for use in producing carbonated water.
The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages encountered in the prior art by providing an improved, relatively simple and economical valve actuator which is operated hydraulically by the pressurized supply of water in a soft drink dispenser station. The improved valve actuator responds to dispensing of a portion of the water to correspondingly dispense the selected flavor syrup, thereby providing a simplified synchronism of water and flavor syrup flows to achieve accurate proportioned dispensing, without loss of carbon dioxide gas to atmosphere.